Rimworld is a top-down survival sim game created by a single developer named Tynan Sylvester, who later created Ludeon studies after the game become popular. It was originally created in 2013, and released as an alpha in 2016 on Steam. Tynan also wrote a book called Designing Games which I have not read, but is on my wishlist.
This game is a little different from what I've reviewed in the past, but it is probably the best resource management/strategy/sim that I've ever played. If you're interested in system design, it's a great look at how little mechanics interact with each other to create amazing and unique scenarios. I've probably sunk over a hundred hours into this game, but I still keep finding different things about it, and different ways to play.
In Rimworld, you play as a colony that has crashlanded their spaceship on a rimworld, far away from civilization, and must figure out how to survive in a harsh environment. You typically start out with 3 colonists, and a few materials such as steel, wood, and some weapons like a rifle and pistol. You must build your base, set up defenses, figure out how to get food, and keep your colonists happy so they don't go insane and start binging on alcohol or set your colony on fire.
Oh yeah, expect to die in Rimworld. A lot.
Don't let Rimworld's cutesy and simplistic graphics fool you. This is an incredibly complex and brutal game. The simplest of mistakes can cascade into devastation across your colony. Your colonists can die from gunshot wounds, illness, heart-attacks, insanity, fire, raids from neighboring colonies, and animal attacks. Life is definitely not easy on the rim -If your colonists begin to starve, they'll chow down on the corpses of enemies and ex-friends who happen to be laying around. Your colonists all come with unique personalities with different traits and skills - and you must be mindful of their personalities and take them into account. If you invite a pyromaniac or a sociopath into your colony, expect trouble. If you don't have someone who's good at doctoring, and one of your colonists gets a brutal gunshot wound, they may get an infection and die. If you don't have someone who's good at gardening, you can't grow things that you need like healroot medicine.
The game has a steep learning curve, but the upside is that you can sink tons of hours into it and not even scratch the surface of what it's capable of. Mods on Steam allow for new weapons and items, different races, seemingly endless combinations of new scenarios, and things like combat mods that change the rules of battle. The game allows you to customize nearly everything - If you want your colonists to eat only vegetarian food, or to wear clothes made only out of devilstrand, you have that option. There are multiple terrains that allow for different types of challenges - including desert, tundra, mountains, and tropics. There are also several storyteller modes which set how often you get random events and how the difficulty gets ramped.
Now I'm excited and I want to go play again. Check out on Steam if this sounds like your type of game. It's definitely one of my top favorites of all time.
This looks like fun. I love when games focus on experience and mechanics more than graphics.
I've been considering giving "Dwarf Fortress" a try too. But games that consume hundreds of hours - they're a blessing and a curse.
Rimworld is sort of a Dwarf Fortress light. You can get the same kicks out of it, without investing an ungodly amount of time in just learning the game.
Oh really? Now I am getting tempted. Sounds about my speed.
It's funny, I got one of those "Humble Bundle" packs on Steam and it contained this farming simulator called "Stardew Valley". It's kind of addictive, but I'm getting sick of watering my damn crops every morning.
Stardew Valley is very addicting! :D but yes, until you have the sprinklers in watering takes a ton of time.
That's for sure! And I haven't even figured out how to get minerals yet!
It's a pretty smart move on the designer's part to make the graphics simple - makes implementing new features a lot easier when you don't have to sink a bunch of money and time into animation, etc.
And definitely a blessing and a curse - I actually don't play too many hours of games per week anymore. I usually pretty more narrative-driven games that last about 2-8 hours, but this one really beat the curve for me.
Dwarf Fortress is the most complex game EVER. I've been playing for more than 2 years and still amazing to me! Rimworld is a nice choice if you are starting in this kind of game!
Never heard of this game, from the sounds of it I'm definitely going to have to pick it up. there is a serious lack of decent survival games in the world today
Looks like sim-city meets survivor. Let me know how you like it if you get it.
i liked in your post sir
reasteam done please check my profile
Your comment looks a bit like spam.
Your Reputation Could be a Tasty Snack with the Wrong Comment!
Thank You! ⚜
Sounds like a game id be interested in. Reminds me of Terraria and some other top downs. Multiplayer available? That would be pretty cool. Nice review man!
This sounds like Sims 4 and Stardew Valley. Your write up is making me want to try it. It's always good to know there are options out there now for the kind of games I like to play.
I love both of those, but this is more complex and brutal.